In an yet another indication of the Indian economy picking up this year,
the country's global containerized export import recorded the highest growth in
the past one year at ten per cent during the third quarter of the calendar year
2017 the AP Moller-Maersk Trade Report says.

The World Bank and the international rating agency Moody's have already
confirmed that the Indian economy is poised for a take off this year. Mirroring
this overall increase, imports and exports have also clocked growth at the same
rate, at ten per cent outperforming industry expectations.

With a lot to cheer about already, India’s GDP too has taken an upward turn
once again, indicating that the impact of major reforms such as demonetization
and GST are finally stabilizing, and the business environment is expected to
improve further once concerns around GST refunds are addressed.

These upticks are in turn expected to once more push up consumer spending,
further propelling India’s trade prospects in the months to come; more so
against the backdrop of recent announcement by the Government on awarding the
infrastructure status to India’s logistics Industry and setting up a special
cell to promote India’s exports to the world.

According to Mr. Steve Felder, Managing Director, Maersk Line – India, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives, “the growth we have seen this
quarter reflects the resilience of India’s global trade environment. Not only
is India repeatedly outpacing the global growth average, but it is also one of
the strongest global import-export partners amongst the BRICS nations.”

He adds, “As local businesses supported by bold Government reforms continue
to benefit from the improving atmosphere, we expect India’s growth to only
further boost its position in global trade and competitiveness. To that end, we
in Maersk Line are fully equipped to support the trajectory of India’s trade,
with end-to-end services to offer customers value at every step in the
logistics value chain, right from financing cargo to secure store-door delivery
in almost any corner of the world. We are committed to continuing to invest in
further enhancing our capabilities in this area.”

A close look at data related to India’s import-export trade with close to
200 Countries across the globe reveals some interesting insights.

In Quarter3 2017, exports to Mediterranean led India’s overall exports
growth, registering a 14 per cent increase; whereas exports to North America
grew at 8 per cent indicating India’s strengthening trade ties with these
regions.

Among the Mediterranean countries, Turkey emerged as India’s largest export
trading partner in terms of overall volumes, due to growing demand for textiles
from the Northern States of India, as well as vehicles and metal from the
western region of the Country.

Exports to Algeria, on the other hand, showed the highest jump at 28 per
cent growth in Q3 2017, up from 12 per cent growth in the corresponding period
of last year.

Additionally, appliances and kitchenware exports to UAE gained significant
steam, going from a negative growth of -44 per cent in the corresponding period
of last year to a 38 per cent growth in Q3 2017. Demand for India-made
appliances and kitchenware also saw a significant growth from Saudi Arabia,
moving from -20 per cent to 8 per cent in Q3 2017.

Offering greater insight into India’s trade with the Mediterranean, Felder
commented, “The growth in exports to Mediterranean countries has mainly come
for East-Mediterranean. And this is owing to the political stability that is
finally settling in Turkey, where we saw a lot of disruptions in the first half
of this year.”

Congratulating India on successfully diversifying its trade basket, Steve
added, “One of the key success factors to India’s global trade growth is that
India has successfully forged trade relationships with multiple geographies and
in multiple commodities. By doing this, we have not only ventured into newer
markets, but have also balanced out the opportunities and challenges that come
to us in the form of peaks and troughs each geography witnesses as a result of
its own local dynamics.”

India’s imports advancement is mainly a result of western India showing a
significant jump of 8 per cent, as opposed to the negative import growth
registered by the region in the corresponding period last year.

Additionally, North India and South India recorded 13 per cent and 11 per
cent growth respectively, with their combined volumes substantially impacting
overall growth.

These surges have been on the back of increased demand for a range of
commodities Electronics and electronic appliances from China, Waste paper from
United States, Plastics and rubber from Saudi Arabia, Auto parts and vehicles
from Germany

Imports to East India, on the other hand, have shrunk by 3 per cent from
last years’ 10 per cent growth, with China emerging as east India’s main
trading partner, as the import of China-made products into the region grew by
35 per cent. Imports of China-made products to western India has also grown
significantly by 19 per cent, led by electronic appliances, furniture, metals
and paper.

Said Felder, “The growing middle class, coupled with developing
industrialization, bodes well for imports into India going into 2018”.

As tensions between North and South Korea escalate, India’s import of paper
has switched from South Korea to the United States and Saudi Arabia. In the
corresponding period of last year, paper imports from South Korea grew by a
whopping 427 per cent, which is now at a negative 22 per cent.

On the contrary, import of paper from the United States and Saudi Arabia,
which were in the negative last year, are now growing at a healthy 19 per cent
and 11 per cent respectively.

Imports of reefer cargo too witnessed marked growth in the third quarter of
the calendra year 2017, especially from Mediterranean countries moving from
being in the negative in the corresponding period last year to 49 per cent
growth this year. Reefer cargo imports from the United States also grew, albeit
at a much slower pace of 14 per cent as compared to the robust 31 per cent
growth it registered in the corresponding period last year.

Some of the other significant import drops witnessed in the third
quarter 2017 are:

Textiles
from North America, which shrunk from 63 per cent in the corresponding period
last year to -16 per cent now, Appliances and kitchenware from China, which
shrunk from 66 per cent to a negative 9 per cent this year and Vehicle imports
from South Korea, which saw a further fall from negative 18 per cent last year
to negative 61 per cent this year.